Alicia Monson races to fifth in battle of 10,000m giantesses
Not one, not two but three reigning World and Olympic Champions were battling it out for the gold in the women’s 10,000m event in Budapest. OAC’s Alicia Monson held her own and claimed a strong fifth place in the end.
Budapest, Hungary, August 19, 2023 - OAC’s Alicia Monson was the first On athlete to compete in a final at the championships in Budapest and came out a strong fifth in a race that had been billed as the battle of the 10,000m greats. With a lot of tactical movements, adversity, and a dose of drama, the race did not disappoint.
In total, there were five sub-30:00 women toeing the start line: World record holder Letesenbet Gidey, Olympic Champion Sifan Hassan, and reigning 5000m World Champion Gudaf Tsegay as well as Grace Nawowuna, Ejgayehu Taye and Lemlem Hailu.
Having set an American record of 30:02 in March and a 5,000m American record in July, Alicia Monson went into the race confidently and kept her cool in warm and humid conditions in Budapest. The 25-year-old raced strategically smart and bade her time in the middle of the pack. Ranking between fourth and tenth, the American let others set the pace but kept close contact with the head of the field.
When the pace accelerated in the penultimate lap, Monson took her heart in her hands and challenged for the podium positions, but Hassan, Tsegay, Gidey, and Taye were in a class of their own for the last lap. The foursome charged ahead in a fight for the medals that ultimately had Hassan tumbling to the ground meters before the finish line and Tsegay taking the gold.
Behind the podium contenders, Monson held on firmly and battled her way through the fatigue and flying elbows. In the end, she only narrowly had to concede defeat for fourth place to Kenya's Irine Jepchumba Kimais but finished on a fantastic fifth rank in a time of 31:32.29.
OAC Headcoach Dathan Ritzenhein was overjoyed with his athlete's performance: "She did amazing. She went for the medals and settled for fifth. She is getting close to that podium!"
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